Redemption and Reflection
by Szeto.Alex
Summary: Azula's reflection in a prison cell - A character study. Please read and review! All criticism is welcome D
1. Chapter 1

Redemption and Reflection

She was beaten. Now a shadow of her former self, Azula sits in a dark prison cell awaiting her trials. Once royalty and now a lowly prisoner, she had given up on hope, given up on redemption, refusing all care that was in her rights as a human being, refusing to reflect on her past actions. The ten by ten cell that she now sat in limited the person that she could have become, just as her duties in her past life did. Once she believed that she could become great, that her part in killing the avatar could grant her the status that she thought was so rightfully deserved, but now realized that it just bound her, limited her life to only one path, just as the chains that bound her hand and feet now did.

Azula thought back to the day just before the final confrontation, where that tiny part of herself that wanted to become something greater than just a glorified bounty hunter planted a little seed of doubt that caused her ultimate downfall. The deadliest sin of all; pride caused this. Azula was Proud in the position that she had achieved by her father's side, proud that she had completely dominated her brother; proud at the false fatherly love Ozai had bestowed upon her. Only now, she realized it was all an illusion, a façade that she had put on to block out the death of her mother, an ill-fated series of decisions that had made her the failure that she was now.

Only then did she realize that little version of herself that she saw in the mirror that day was right. She could have brought about a change in herself that would have led to her redemption, just as Zuko did. But pride once again, barred the way, clouded her judgment. She wanted to receive the attention and love from her father that Azula thought she so rightfully deserved, only to have any hope of getting that ripped away by her brother who had risen above the petty needs that her family's political life showed to be the only way forward.

She was in a different place now, one of peace and quiet. On her first day in the small prison, Azula had to be bound and gagged to stop the bright blue flams that were so full of hatred and destruction from wreaking havoc. Once she realized her mistakes, and retreated into a place of quiet contemplation, she found that she could not firebend, no matter how hard she tried. The hate filled methods that Ozai had taught her now no longer applied. The chains, the cell, the loathing no longer bound her. She was free. Free to pursue peace and quiet, to seek the forgiveness of those that she had wronged, free to seek the perfect family life that she so desperately wanted, that Zuko now possessed.

On that day, she cried and wept her eyes out, for the sins that she had committed, and finally, for her lost mother that had never returned. The name Azula once carried the weight of royalty, but has since lost all meaning until this day. To her, the name signified reflection, redemption and not retribution or detestation. After three long months, Azula was redeemed.

She sat quietly, and awaited the outcome of her trial.


	2. Corporate Short story

**Hey all, since howlin4u wanted me to continue this piece (which was originally supposed to be a one-shot =P ) I will, but first here's a short little piece of writing that I thought up in the middle of the night XD - It has nothing to do with the series, but I hope you all enjoy =) I"ll be coming up with a couple new chapters in the next couple weeks, so keep reading! This "chapter" is just me writing to blow off some steam and trying to get some criticism =) Thanks!**

Corporate

John Doe lay wide awake in his bed, unable to slip peacefully into his dreams. He looked at his clock and read the time; 3:25am. He needed all the rest he could get, and yet, his tired, worn out body would not let him get it. So, John sat up in his bed, grabbed a small black remote and turned his television on, flicking through the meaningless channels that were showing at this ungodly hour.

He stopped the meaningless channel surfing to arrive on the cartoon channel, something which he had not watched since he was but a child. Somehow, watching Bugs bunny awakened a sense of childhood glee in him, a feeling he had not felt in too long. Everything he did nowadays was adult, boring and some can even say, joyless. John worked in a cramped cubicle, crunching numbers for the corporate big shots. A complete dead-end job. He would look up at the glass ceiling in the huge, corporate office that he worked in and wonder: can I ever move up? After five years of meaningless work, he had finally figured out the answer at 3am in the morning.

These cartoons that he was watching painted a picture of the perfect lifestyle, giving John hope that the carefree life so vividly depicted in the program was something he could achieve, only to brutally tear it away once it ended, once he had to go back to the glass office. John didn't want to lose the sense of childlike delight anymore. Nothing in his current lifestyle gave him anything that would incite this feeling in him. And so, he made a decision. This decision gave him much needed comfort and happiness, sending him off to sleep with the cartoons that had inspired him still playing in the background.

John woke up refreshed and unburdened at noon, put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and went off to the gloomy, depressing office that was his workplace. There were stares, whispers directed at him the moment he walked through the glass doors. He felt invigorated, revitalized, no longer bound by the black and blue suits that had been his life for the past 5 years. John knocked on his employer's door and strode in, humored by his boss' anger at his state of dress and tardiness. He took every enraged, wrath filled words from him with grace, responding with only a smile on his face and two simple words.

"I Quit."

And John Doe would be meaningless no longer.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey all, I did this chapter once I saw that my story had gotten it's first positive review =) I hope you all enjoy, the plot-line should have been pretty predictable once you finished the first chapter XD please read and review! Dont flame too hard =P As usual, anyone is welcome to PM me if you want anything to be put in or taken out, or even if they want me to review/give notes on any stories, which I will gladly do.**

Chapter 2

The courtroom was strangely quiet, even though all the people that hated her for the wrongs that she committed were all gathered in one place. Azula could feel the cold rage, the stares of hatred directed towards her and instinctively shied away. For the first time in her life, she was truly and utterly afraid of all the eyes upon her, no longer loving the attention that she received.

She was brought up upon the witness stand, and instructed to kneel before the judge, and a jury of her peers. The judge asked a question:

"For your crimes in war, for your crimes against humanity, and for your sins that you have committed upon your family and the firelord, Azula, how do you plead?"

She thought back to her epiphany in the dark prison cell, came to a conclusion, and proceeded to surprise every soul present in the room.

"Guilty."

The answer shocked every single being in the room, and there were gasps, whispers full of loathing, shouts and screams filled with revulsion, disgust and animosity. But two people in the room sat there quietly, sat without words and seemingly without emotion. The two people were Aang and Zuko, her newly redeemed brother and the Avatar. She bowed her head in sadness, and the realization that she had hurt so many people, so many families in the country that she loved, that she once served with such gusto, made her weep.

The courtroom fell into silence at the sight of the once regal and proud princess of the Fire-nation openly weeping for her crimes, and the people who had previously been shouting and screaming sat back in their seats to watch the pitiful Azula wallow in self-pity and regret. Azula heard a single whispered conversation and looked up, tears streaming down a face dirtied by grime and salt, leaving a clear trail amidst the grey that covered her face. It was between the judge and the Avatar, their heads lowered, discussing something that was not to be heard by the public. After what seemed to be an age, the murmurs stopped and the trial continued.

The judge called witness after witness upon the stand, each one of them depicting her crimes with wrath and fury until finally, there was no more that could be said, and all that remained was the sentencing.

She had hoped to redeem herself in the eyes of her citizens, her family, but after such a long, extensive, frenzied trial, Azula realized that there was no hope for her, only long, agonizing years within a cramped cell. She was ready accept any fate that would be bestowed upon her and knelt with her head bowed, greasy raven locks spilling across a beautiful face marred by shame and sorrow.

What the judge said next would surprise every single soul.

"Azula, I hereby sentence you to 5 years of community service with the Avatar and your brother, in light of the regret that you have shown here today."

The courtroom was eerily silent until the hammer was brought down, at which point the whole audience erupted. The room was once again filled with screams, tears and shouts of anger and sadness, not only directed at her but towards the Avatar, the Judge and her brother. She now realized what that conversation was about, and the trouble that Aang and Zuko have now brought upon themselves in order to give a second chance to the depressed woman.

Azula raised her head and looked up at the pair, gazing into their eyes which still whispered doubt and sincerely said two simple words.

"Thank you…"

She broke down again, and was taken back to her cell for what hopefully would be the last time, the two words unheard by anybody but the pair who had given her a chance.


End file.
